The Portland daily press., 1887-12-24
AFTER THE RAFT.
The Voyage Undertaken by the Big
Tow Boat Morse.

NEW YORK, Dec. 23.-A northwest gale
was reported last night as blowing at the
rate of sixty miles an hour off the New Eng
land coast, when the big steam tug G. w
Morse started from the foot of North Sixth
street, Wiliamsburgh, to hunt for Shipbuild-
er James ID. Leary's derelict s15QO00 raft
Mr.. Leary saw the nayigators off, and shout
ed good luck to them as the Morse started up
the East river with the boiling tide, and van
ished in 1.-The darkness. The Morse is the
boss tug of America. She has made only
one trip, and that was to Savannah and
back. She was built in Bath, Me-, and is 165
feet long, 81 feet beam, and II feet depth Of
hold. That means that she is about SO feet
longer than the Cyclops and the Ocean King.
the biggest deep water tugs hereabouts. She
is commanded by Capt A. G. Blair, who is
assisted by Pilot Hopkins. Exclusive Of Mr..
II. r. Robertson, the patentee of the raft,
and Capt. Littlefeld, both of whom were on
the Miranda, the Morse's crew consists Of
twenty men. Her bunkers are filed, and a
portion of her decks are loaded with coal,
and she is Eprovisioned Tor a sixty days
cruise.
The Morse is hired by the day by Mr.. Lea
ry, with the understanding that Mr.. Morse,
the owner Of the tug, shall receive additional
pay If his fearless skipper finds the big bun
die of logs and brings it here.
I'VE have taken set Of International
Code signals with u.s." said Capt. Littlefeld,
$50 that we can talk to incoming steamships.
We expect to find the raft principally through
the assistance of steamships that may have
passed it. We will probably get to the place
where the Miranda let go tomorrow night.
I fnE frop En0tyl ladOQ 0f tlQ QurrQnts
In that part of the Atlantic. that the raft has
drifted to the southeast, toward the Bermu-
das. 1t may be, however, that It has gone
Europeward, but l do not think 1t has, as
none of the incoming vessels have reported
it. We shall build crows nest on the fore
mast head, where we shall have man cen
stantly on the lookout, and we shall stay out
until we find the raft. We shall tow 1t TO
Europe if that becomes necessary TO save II,
but think we can bring 1t safely into this
harbOr."
Mr.. Robertson, who superintended the con
struction Of the raft, said that he thought 1t
would hold together six months. IL could
not break In pieces all at once, because OF It's
peculiar build. The big logs might gradually
work out from the centre of the mass, leav-
ing hollow she'll Of light logs fastened to.
gether by "a tons of chain. The raft rolled
less than big ship, Mr.. Robertson said, and
three days before the Miranda abandoned 1t,
Capt. Littlefield was walking on 1t. 1t was
enllnenLly SedWOrJhy IdIt. lucic 10 uOs .
stick in it less than 26 feet long, and the big
gest is the solid part of spruce tree "a feet
long, 81 feet at the butt, and 10 inches at the
top, and worth S125.
Capt. Blair, Of the Morse, said The would
use an 11-ineh hawser on the raft II he
found it. He is veteran in the towing bus
mess, and he thinks he can outmanoeuvre
and subdue the most cantankerous raft ever
launched
The fear that the raft has created among
shipping men extends to all Eurpean ports.
| The agents of all the steamship lines here
| have cabled to the offices on the other side,
| to warn their captains against the monster
| woodpile
A log six feet long, If abandoned in thi,
| halb Dor, will render the man who set 1t adrifl
| liable to fine; but there is no law about
| the abandonment of pile of giant logs al
sea. The raft is regarded just as derelici
| vessel is; but, being solid, 1t Is thousand
| times more dangerous to navigation.
The revenue cutter Grant started from the
| navy yard yesterday,to join the screw steam
| er Enterprise in hunting for the raft. Young
| Mr.. Leary was inclined to think that the
| Grant could do very little more than entel
| the raft on the ships log il she found 1t
| Some enterprising tramp steamship captain,
| Mr.. Leary thought might buckle on to the
| leviathan, and try his luck with 1t until fou
| weather came along. The Morse passed
| through the same gale in which the Mirands
| abandoned the raft, and gallantly hung on
| to two coal barges she was towing iron
| Philadelphia to Boston. After finding the
| raft, the finders will have hard job board
| ing it and getting up the swivel with wnicf
| the wire towing cable is fastened,